Thursday, February 22, 2007
Fon wants you to help steal business from Starbucks and T-Mobile
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VoIP provider Vonage has already cut a deal with EarthLink to resell WiFi, presumably to go along with some sort of WiFi phone service, but could they have something way crazier (and more costly) on tap? BusinessWeek speculates that Vonage might be getting into the cellular game by launching an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator). It's not hard to imagine them offering something similar to T-Mobile's HotSpot @Home service, which lets you use a WiFi-enabled cellphone to make VoIP calls over WiFi and and then seamlessly switch over to cellular networks whenever you're outside WiFi range. The problem is that launching an MVNO is no small undertaking. ESPN shuttered MobileESPN last year after failing to attract more than a handful of subscribers, and Amp'd and Helio have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to carve out a slice of what is an incredibly competitive wireless market (Apple was working on an MVNO to accompany the launch of the iPhone, but scrapped the whole thing once it became obvious how difficult it would be to gain marketshare). Could they do it? Maybe, but not without spending a TON of money, which is why it's more likely that they'll introduce a more modest Voice over WiFi service.[Via GigaOm]
Motion Computing unveils RFID-reading C5 medical tablet PC
Although we sincerely hope your only encounter with a clinical assistant tablet PC comes by way of your occupation, it looks like Motion Computing is busting out a medically-focused device to help the dear LPNs keep things in order for the high-falutin' doctors. The C5 touts a vertically centered design, top-mounted carry handle, handwriting recognition, built-in digital camera for documenting wounds, time-stamp / voice-tag capabilities, and even an optional RFID reader to easily check patients in by scanning their wrist straps. Claiming to be the world's first device in the new mobile clinical assistant (MCA) category of PCs, it packs a 1.2GHz Intel Core Solo U1400 processor, Windows Vista Business or Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, a 10.4-inch XGA touchscreen, up to 1.5GB of DDR2 RAM, 30 / 60GB 1.8-inch hard drive options, 802.11a/b/g, Bluetooth, and a rechargeable Li-ion to boot. Furthermore, it weighs in at just 3.1-pounds, so toting this bad boy around the office shouldn't be too much of a burden, and the "durable, semi-sealed enclosure" shouldn't have any issues handling the daily mishaps of your average doctor's lounge. So if you've been looking for a way to digitize your office and get far, far away from those paper-filled drawers, we're sure your IT rep will be hitting you up soon to sneak a peek at this $2,199 tablet.[Via GottaBeMobile]
GoogleFi gives 360 addicts Xbox Live on the go
[Via BBC News]
Sharp's EM ONE: a dual-sliding Pocket PC with HSDPA and WiFi
[Via Impress]
Telus, Sierra Wireless carrying EV-DO Rev A to Canada
If the Canucks out there have been getting a bit jealous at all the Rev A love going around down south, your resentment ends now -- well, sometime this year, anyway. Thanks to Telus and Sierra Wireless, EV-DO Rev A connectvitiy is headed to Canada in the coming months, as interested users will be able to pop the AirCard 595 into their laptop's PCMCIA slot and reportedly reach peak speeds of up to 3.1Mbps downstream and 1.8Mbps upstream. Of course, it is noted that typical speeds will range between 300 to 400Kbps whilst uploading, and 450 to 800Kbps on the downward slope, but you Canadians will probably take what you can get, eh? Unfortunately, there's no set dates for the future rollouts, and "select markets" is all we have to go on for availability, but we do know that Telus will be charging $349.99 for the AirCard 595 sans a contract, or you can lock yourself in for a whopping three years if you've only got $99.99 to spare.Brand new toys sure have been popping up everywhere of late, and now Mattel's hitting us up with another gizmo being showcased at the International To
Brand new toys sure have been popping up everywhere of late, and now Mattel's hitting us up with another gizmo being showcased at the International Toy Fair. Presumably designed to latch onto the hard-earned dollars of paranoid mums who watch entirely too many of those "internet predator" spots, the Girl Tech IM-Me is a very restrictive wireless instant messaging system that relies on parental okays in order to operate. Aside from only allowing texts to be sent and received from parent-approved usernames, the gal can only use her purple and pink IM machine within range (read: in the house) of the USB dongle, which must be plugged into an internet connected PC. So while we still prefer PictoChat, we imagine this $64.99 device will sell like hotcakes when it lands this summer -- only to never be used by any halfway sane (and understandably rebellious) teenage daughter.[Via Gadgets-Weblog]
This week only, London's Tower Bridge is the world's largest Bluetooth device
While wireless headset manufacturers battle one another to shrink their wares until they completely disappear into your ear canal, organizers of the Switched-On London lighting festival (not named, unfortunately, after the excellent column by NPD's Ross Rubin) have taken the opposite tack: for one week in February, they've transformed the famous Tower Bridge into the world's largest Bluetooth device (narrowly edging out the PS3). Using multi-colored lights strung across the length of the upper walkway, technicians have created a gigantic interactive exhibit wherein sensors located at either end detect travelers' Bluetooth-enabled gadgets (cellphones, laptops, PDA's, etc.) and then track their progress in pseudo-real-time as they move across the bridge. Visually, the movement is represented by a uniquely-colored pixel appearing at more-or-less the same spot on the walkway as the device; to a faraway observer, it would look like this single "pixel" was making the journey from one end to the other. In order to ensure device anonymity, the Bluetooth sensors only send a derivative of each device's MAC address to the bridge's main controller, so consider this a Bluesnarfing safe-zone. If you're in the area and want to check this out -- or love Bluetooth enough to buy a plane ticket (any BT fanboys out there?) -- you'd better hurry, as the project ends and the bridge goes dark tomorrow.
[Via Hack-A-Day]
Novatel revs up its line with new HSDPA / HSUPA offerings
Novatel's keeping us in the bits pretty well lately, what with those Rev A dongles on Sprint and Verizon, and that XU870 HSDPA ExpressCard hotness. Now they've got a trio of hot new accessories, including a pair of HSDPA devices: the Merlin X950D ExpressCard and the Ovation MC870D USB Modem. The X950D offers up global tri-band HSUPA and quad-band EDGE/GPRS, and works in ExpressCard/34 and 54 slots. The real hotness is the 2.1Mbps HSUPA uploads, and those 7.2Mbps downloads aren't bad neither. There's also built-in GPS. On the USB end of things, Novatel's Ovation MC870D (pictured) does 7.2Mbps HSDPA, but apparently doesn't match those hot upload speeds in the X950D. The dongle is Europe centric, hanging out on the 2100MHz band, so Americans will have to look elsewhere. Novatel is also announcing two HSDPA embedded laptop modules for OEMs, the EU870D for Europe and the EU860D for North America. Luckily for those of us wondering where North American USB HSDPA is on this list, Novatel is launching the Merlin XUA-1 ExpressCard to USB adapter, to let you use those cards with any old USB 2.0 port. No word on price or release dates for any of this stuff, but this should be enough to get us salivating, we suppose.
Hands-on with Apple's AirPort Extreme 802.11n Base Station
Continue reading Hands-on with Apple's AirPort Extreme 802.11n Base Station
Monday, February 12, 2007
New CDMA phones from Samsung coming to Alltel, Verizon
Samsung, the all-things-CDMA handset maker du jour these days, will be introducing new handsets to CDMA carriers Alltel and Verizon soon.The two new models -- the R510 and U540 -- look identical to existing handsets offered from other carriers -- like the T-Mobile Trace and the Sprint A500. Both, both of these are packing CDMA innards in ultra-slim form factors.
[via Engadget Mobile]
Sanyo reports huge net loss for recent quarter
Sanyo reported a 7.3 billion yen net loss for the most recent quarter this past Tuesday, casted doubt on whether the struggling Japanese electronics maker will pull out of some markets it serves.Strangely, a decline in domestic sales (Japan) outpaced strong performance overseas (U.S. market and others). The reason for the declines was given as increased competition in digital cameras that offset higher sales of mobile phones and advanced washing machines. Sanyo only sells mobile handsets to one U.S. carrier -- Sprint.
Billionaire asks for seat on Motorola's board
Carl Icahn -- a financier who likes to get involved with companies he tries to "fix" -- has bought about 1.4% of Motorola's stock and has requested a seat on the board of directors.There are many guesses that say Icahn wants to split Motorola up into component pieces (like any bullheaded financier) based on lackluster results from its last quarter.
Motorola, though, has has great results in recent years with a stock price that has done well. So, what's Icahn's beef here?
Sprint adds more EV-DO Revision A markets
Sprint continues to take its 3G wireless network across the U.S. to the next level, as it's upgraded more markets to the next-gen EV-DO Revision A standard.Miami Fl., Portland Ore. and Puerto Rico have received the nicety of Sprint's latest upgrade and all three markets now have EV-DO Revision A speeds available to customers.
At this time, the speeds are only available using PC Cards -- not handsets.
Siemens sees growth in enterprise Wi-Fi equipment
Although Siemens has had some issues centered around its wireless operations recently -- selling its handset division to Taiwan's BenQ at a huge loss -- the company saw increased quarterly results recently on strong demand for its enterprise mobility and WLAN products.Siemens saw more than 125% growth and has bulked up its enterprise offerings to meet increased demand, and the German telecom juggernaut hopefully will see its fortunes continue to rise. After all, enterprise Wi-Fi is doing anything but going away.
Sprint wants to control feature and smartphones
As the complexity of certain advanced wireless handsets and fully-fledged smartphones becomes more prevalent, carriers need a way to manage those devices on the network -- millions of them.As such, Sprint has partnered with mFoundation to do just that. It will be able to provision, configure, diagnose and manage feature phones and smartphones on its network -- remotely and with (hopefully) a minimum of fuss.
Cingular spends $86 million in Las Vegas upgrades
Looks like the nation's largest carrier spent a staggering $86 million to upgrade its wireless network in Sin City last year, surpassing the estimate of $46 million which was initially forecast.If you're in Vegas any time soon and don't have a good wireless signal, Cingular probably wants to know about it after spending so much in upgrading the level of service there. Just don't count cards on that new Windows Mobile smartphone, ok?
Deutsche Telekom sees lower performance in latest quarter
Deutsche Telekom -- the German telecom juggernaut -- witnessed lower performance in its most recent quarter as it saw a big cut in profit and forecast more competition.European competitor Vodafone Group is not making things easy for DT, as it relentlessly cuts prices and forces DT to do the same. T-Mobile USA -- DT's fastest-growing unit -- has also not lived up to forecasts because of the dollar's slide against the euro in 2006.
Hyperfactory launches mobile media platform for advertisers
With a few copmpanies and a handfuls of startups banking on the future of mobile marketing -- kinda like Google bet its future on text ads all those years ago -- the Hyperfactory is set to offer a global platform for contextual media planning based around this platform.Companies want to find out which types of campaigns work and don't work on the "third screen" -- the mobile phone screen, that is.
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